Balancing centrifugal drying and washing machine



1950 J. G. DE REMER 2,533,722

BALANCING CENTRIFUGAL DRYING AND WASHING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1943 5Sheets-Sheet 1 70 DRAIN 1 W 1 I33 XNVENTOR ,4? m J? Y im/w DE FEMERATTORNEY Dec. 12, 1950 J, 3, DE REMER 2,533,722

BALANCING CENTRIFUGAL DRYING AND WASHING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1943Sheets-Sheet 2 58/ 76 77 4 g y 9.? 5 7f 86 gi J 83' f W I 46 52 ,9 45

44 //6 I! 45 k, M I55 z/ I .95 Ill 94 A11 17 95 W 1/2 7 .52 I72 I04 J4 M66' :3? 7y 64 I Z5 72 7/ J/ f I: 7 H24 K .9 68 i 48 .45 .fi'0 F "5'5 J lw /06 .55 m6? by 6/ Jr i ""iggitg jifij gf /0/ mg 7 A 1'05 57 a? yINVENTOR A I53 m w J2) 61m NT DE. REMER I08 BY mm W 1W1;

ATTORNEY Dec. 12, 1950 J. G. DE REMER 2,533,722

BALANCING CENTRIFUGAL DRYING AND WASHING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1943 5Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR .721) GRANT 125 R040? BY W m QL;

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BALANCINGCENTRIFUGAL DRYING AND WASHING MACHINE Jay Grant De Remer, Darlen,Conn., assignor to G. De Remer Research Corporation, Union City, N. J.,a corporation of New Jersey Application July 14, 1943, Serial No.494,598

1 28 Claims.

This invention relates to balancing centrifugal drying and washingmachines and more parsupported from a point beneath the basket. so

as to be capable of partaking of a spinnlnginovement about its own axisand a gyrating movement in which the basket axis-describes a conicalsurface about the universal support. Concentric drive shafts areprovided, the inner shaft constituting the spin shaft and the outershaft con- 2' vantageous when operating at the lower spin shaft speeds,as for example, when the basket is being accelerated at the beginning ofa centrifug'al drying operation.

If desired, the centering spring may be utilized in combination with thefrictional stabilizing 1 members to stabilize the basket duringcentrifugal extraction with a stationary gyrator shaft.

stituting the gyrator shaft. Frictional stabilizi f members areinterposed between thebasket and the gyrator shaft, these frictionmembersconating on a frictional surface on the gyrator shaft.

stituting a, plate journaled on the spin shaft oper- I For washing, thespin shaft is held stationaryj description which follows, accompanied bydraw ings'showing for purely illustrative purposes preand the gyratorshaft is rotatedto impart 'a gyrating motion to the basket and itscontents.

For centrifugal drying, the spin shaftisdriven at drying speed and thegyrator shaft is drivenin the same direction as the spin shaft to im--With such a construction, fordrying, the gyrator shaft will be heldstationary while the spin shaft is rotated, and for washing the gyratorshaft will be rotated with the spin shaft held stationary. 1 Theinvention also provides for the use of a universal joint in the spinshaft having lateral flexibility to permit the .foot of the uppersectionof the spin shaftto be displaced laterally when the spinning massis in dynamic unbalance. Such a universal maybe either in the form of ahelical spring or in the form of a block or tube of-rubber. T

'Theseand other features and improvements will-,appear-from aconsideration of the detailed fer'red embodiments of this invention.

The invention also consists in'certainnew and original features ofconstruction and combinapart to the basket a force tangential to thepath a -tion of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be-'characteristic ofthis invention will be par-" ticularly pointed out in the claimsappended hereto, the invention itself, its objects and ad- J vantagesand the manner in which it may be acting between the gyrator shaft;andthe spinshaft. If desired, the same spring may be used for applyingfrictional force between the frictional stabilizing members. With theuse of a centering spring, I have been able to increase the liftingtorque acting to move the basket toward central position at all usefulbe improved by deliberately reducing the gyrator shaft speed at thebeginning of a centrifugal drying period while the spin speed is low.,Ac-

vided special constant ratio devices to insure com stant ratio betweenthe speeds of "the gyrator cording to the present invention, I.have-pro-1' and spin shafts. This constant ratio relationship is attained byspecial slip clutches which also have the advantage of reducing thestarting torque on the motor. The improved operationdue to the centeringspring is particularly ad-' carried out,v may be better understood byreferring to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming a part hereof, in which:

1mg". 1 is an elevation partly insection of a washing machine embodyingfeatures of this invention, the position of the parts being that oc-,cupiedat the-beginning of the drying operation; 2 isan enlargedsectional elevation showingin greater detail elements of thedrive of themachine shown in Fig. 1;.

Fig'. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation of a fn'iodified form ofshaft assembly; a

dis a detail showing a modified form of universal'j int which may beused inthe modiflcation 0 Fig. 3-in place I-slio'wn t erein;

of the universal joint Fig. 5 is-a section taken o njthe line 15-5 Fig.2, but showing the projection 'on' the gyrator shaft-engaged againstthe-roller on the spin shaft for gyrating the basket for the washingoperation; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical view of a modified pedestal assembly with provisionfor holding the gyrator shaft stationary during the centrifugal dryingoperation.

In the following description and in the claims.

various details will be identified by specific names for convenience.The names, however, are intended to be as generic in their applica tionas the art will permit.

Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures ofthe drawings. I

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification,certain specific disclosure of the invention is made for the purpose ofexplanation, but it will be understood that the details may be modifiedin varius respects without departure from the broad aspect of theinvention.

Referring now to the drawings and more par.- ticularly to Figs. 1 and 2,the laundry machine according to the invention comprises. in genera], atank l6 containing a clothes basket 21. The basket is centrifugallydriven by a spin shaft made up of vertical drive shaft 48 and rotorshaft 40 connected by a universal joint. The basket is gyrated by agyrator shaft indicated in general by 66. Electric motor 98 drives thegyrator shaft 66 through gyrator gears 94, H2.

and the spin shaft through spin shaft gears 55.

I86. Pump |5| circulates water from the bottom of tank l into filter l4and thence the water may be delivered either into the basket 21 or intoa drain pipe I66. The details of the above apparatus will be describedmore in detail hereinafter.

Referring now further to Figs. 1 and 2, the washing machine has an outertank or casing iii closed by a cover H. The cover H has a central lid |2hinged at 3. The lid l2 serves as a support for a filter l4 and may beclosed during nonuse of the machine causing the filter to move into ahorizontal position inside the casing Hi.

The casing ID has an outer wall I5 connected to a tapered bottom It atH. The bottom, in turn, is connected to a substantially cylindricalinner wall |8 at l9 and has an annular trough or depression 20 about theinner wall l6 forming a sump 2|.

The casing is supported by a base 22 consisting of an annular member 23of L-shaped cross section and a plurality of legs 24, preferably threeor four. A spider 25 is connected to the base by screws 26 and supportsvarious shafts and bearings for a basket or receptacle 2'! in whichlaundry and other articles are washed and centrifugally dried.

The basket or receptacle 2'! has a tapered side wall 28 provided with aninturned fiange 29 at its upper and narrow end. The wide end of the sidewall 28 is connected to a relatively heavy bottom wall 38 at 3|. Thebottom wall 30 has a raised central portion 32 surrounded by an an nulartrough 33 which is bordered at the outside by a raised peripheralportion 34 forming a ledge at 35. Adjacent the ledge and at the widestpart of the receptacle 2'! a plurality of bleeder holes 36 are providedin the side wall 28. The bleeder holes are preferably 6 in number andhave a diameter of about .18 inch for a household washing machine of thespecifications given below.

Helical blades. are mounted on the inside of the wall 28 in order toimpart, in connection with the ledge 35 and trough 33, a certain desir--able vortex motion to the contents of the receptacle, as will be laterdescribed. The blades are preferably of triangular cross section asshown at 38. A balance ring 39 is secured to the recep- The rotor shaft40 is made in two telescoping parts 43 and 44 for convenient assembly.The

inner part43 of the rotor shaft 40 is forked at 45 to receive a pin 46in the outer part 44. The pin 46 prevents turning between the two parts43 p and 44 of the rotor shaft 40 which at its upper end is closed byaplug 41.

The rotor shaft 48 is mounted for rotation with, and freedom to tiltrelatively to, a substantially vertical drive shaft 48 mounted inoilless bearing 49 in gyrator shaft 66 and in oilless bearing 50 in thehub 5| of the spider 25. The rotor shaft 46 and drive shaft 48 areconnected by a universal joint 52 secured to the shafts by pins 53 and54 respectively. The flexible shaft for rotating the basket on its ownaxis including the rotor shaft 40, and drive shaft 48 with universaljoint therebetween is sometimes referred to, for convenience, as thespin shaft.

At its lower end the drive shaft 48 carries a beveled friction gear 55secured thereto by a key 56 and set screw 51. The hub 5| of the spider25 is sealed at its lower end by a packing ring 56 compressed by awasher 59 and ring-nut 60 threaded on the hub 5| at 6|.

The universal joint 52 has a fiange 62 resting on an oilless thrust ring64 supported by a shoulder 65 of gyrator shaft 66. The gyrator shaft 66carries oilless bearing 49 for the drive shaft 48. The gyrator shaft 66is journaled in radial bearings 67 and 68 in the hub 5| of the spi er25. The gyrator shaft 66 has also a shoulder 69 resting against oillessthrust rings 10 and H on a corresponding shoulder I2 in the hub 5|. Thusthe weight of the basket and clothes is taken by the hub 5| and has noeffect on the pressure between the friction plate 11 and friction head15 described more in detail hereinafter.

I The gyrator shaft 66 has an upper fiared portion 13 which is connectedto the main portion of the gyrator shaft at 14 and carries a sphericallycurved frict on ring 15 at its widest portion. The surface of frictionring 15 has its center of curvature at the center of the universal joint52. A ring 16 of friction material such as clutch or brake-lining issecured to the friction ring 15 and is acted upon at the other s de by acorresponding spherically curved friction plate 11. The friction plate11 is secured to a sleeve having self-lubricating or oilless bearings 6|rotatable and axially slidable on the outer part 44 of the rotor shaft40. A collar 18 overhanging flange 19 secures friction plate 11 andsleeve 60 together.

The sleeve 80 has a lower flange 82 welded to it against which a taperedhelical compression spring 83rests whose other end is secured to theclutch disks I and upper flared portion I3 of the gyrator shaft 66 byclamps 84.

The spring 83 through the sleeve 80 exerts a combined vertical andhorizontal thrust on the frictional erection assembly 15, I6, 11. Thethrust against the friction surfaces may be of the order of to poundsfor an average family size washing machine of the specification givenbelow. The centering force measured at the level of the friction plateIl may be of the order of 20 to 25 pounds when the basket is in itsextreme tilted position with the machine at rest. In general, the spring83 may exert a centering force sufllcient to maintain the basket 21,filled with laundry and water, upright with the machine at rest, butinsufficient to prevent the basket from tipping over when the gyratorshaft is rotated for washing. The action of the centering spring will bediscussed more at length hereinafter.

The sleeve carries a further flange forming an abutmment against whichthe hub 86 of a resilient roller 81 rests, the roller being held inplace by the plate 11. The roller 8'! serves to cushion the shock whenthe rotor shaft 40 of the loaded receptacle 21 tilts against the flaredportion of the gyrator shaft 66.

A projection or lug 89 is provided on the flared portion I3 of thegyrator shaft 66 in the path of the roller 81. When the gyrator shaft 66is rotated while-the rotor shaft 40 supporting the loaded receptacle 2!is in a tilted position, the projection 89 rests against the side of theroller 81 carrying the rotor shaft 40 along and producing a gyrating orwobbling motion of the receptacle and its contents.

In order to prevent washing liquid from entering the space insidetheflared portion I3 of the gyrator shaft 66, a cup-shaped splash ringis secured to the hub M of the receptacle. Under certain conditions,depending upon the type of water or soap, considerable foam or froth maybe formed by the agitation. To prevent this foam or froth from gettinginside wall I8, a bell-shaped skirt or body 92 is connected to thefriction member I1 at 93 extending into the sump 2I below the level ofthe liquid normally filling the sump during the soaking, washing andrinsing periods of the machine.

M otor drive The gyrator shaft 66 carries a beveled friction gear 94,the hub of which is secured to the shaft by akey '96 and held in placeby a-set screw 91.

Motive power is supplied to the beveled friction gears 55 and 94 on thedrive shaft 48 and the gyrator shaft 66, respectively, by a motor 98having a hollow armature shaft 99 carrying fixed IOI secured thereto bykeys I02 and I03. An inner shaft I04 extends through the hollow armatureshaft 99 and has secured thereto, at its'lower end, the thimble I05 of asmall friction gear I06 held in place by a pin I 01. The gear I 06 isprovided with a complementary clutch disk I08 bearing against a frictionring I09 secured to one of the clutch disks I08 or IOI. The thimble I05is rigidly secured to a sleeve I05, to a disk I08, and to clutch disk I08.. these parts forming a unitary hub structure to support therelatively soft friction gear I06 to insure it turning with thimb'e I05.This structure is .iournaled on hollowshaft 89 by an oilless bearingI06.

Theother end of the inner shaft I04 is squared as at II 0 and carriesthe thimbie III of a second friction gear II2, having a square holepermitting the thimble I I I to move axially of. but not to turnrelatively to. the shaft I04. The second friction gear is also providedwith a clutch disk I I3 bearing against a friction ring II; securedtoone of the clutch disks I00 or I I3. A compression spring I I5 bearingagainst a collar I I6 on the inner shaft I04 and against the thimble IIIof the friction gear I I 2 forces the clutch elements of both gears I06and H2 together. Since bothgears I06 and H2 are fixed on the shaft I04against rotation, they rotate equiangularly regardless of the slip ofthe spin shaft clutch IOI, I09, I08 and of the gyrator shaft clutch I00,III, H3. The thimble III is rigidly secured to a sleeve III which inturn is rigidly secured to clutch disk I I3 to form a unitary hubstructure to support and hold the relatively soft friction gear 2 toinsure the gear IIZ turning with thirnble III. This structure isjournaled on hollow shaft 99 by oilless bearings II2.

Thus, arrangement is made for a cooperative action between the spinshaft clutch- IOI, I08 and the gyrator shaft clutch I00, H3. The clutchplates I00 and IM. being rigidly secured to the hollow shaft 99, mustrotate together. Similarly, the clutch plates I08 and H3 beingrotatively secured to the inner shaft I04 must rotate together. Thismeans that one clutchcannot slip without the other also slipping. Thisinsures, a constant predetermined relationship between the speeds of thegyrator gears. 94, H2 and of the spin gears 55, I06 during accelerationof the spin shaft 48, the friction gears 94, H2 and 55, I06 being soconstructed and arranged that no substantial slippage takes placebetween the gears themselves, but all of the slippage takes place in theclutches. The amount of slippage in the clutches is controlled bytheten'sion of spring I I5.

Thus the spin shaft andgyrator shaft clutches might be termed constantratio clutches. These clutches have the advantage of reducing the loadon the motor while the spin shaft 48 isbeing accelerated and also assistin increasing the lifting torque on the basket at thebeginning of thespin-drying period when the basket is being accelerated from zero tospin drying speed, as will be hereinafter explained: more in detail. Thehollow motor shaft on which the motor gears are journaled provides thenecessary strength to press the sets of friction gears together toobtain friction driving without slipping of the gears,

The motor 98 is mountedona-tiltablesupport II'I hinged at II8 to achannelrlikelink I-IB. as shown in Fig. 1. The link I I.9lj ispivoted-at- I20 to the hub 5I of the spider 25. Aibrack'et I2| issecured to the link I I9 between the pivots H8 and I20. A pair ofdrawbars I22 are fastenedto the bracket I2I at I23, the open ends ofwhich are hooked to coil springs I24 connected to, brackets nected atI29 to.the center of af substantially U-sha ed doub e armed lever I30,The-lever is p vot lly mounted at .I3I; t'o ;a pair of bracketsI32secured to the hub 5I by .bolts' I39". In Fig. 1 onlv one of thebrackets I32.is;.visible. The lever' I30 supportsa cradle I33in'trunnionsflil. The

cradle is fitted with a brake lining I35 bearing against the peripheryof the gear 55 when the solenoid I21 is energized and the cradle I33 islifted. The free end I36 of the lever I30 bears against a pair ofadjustable studs I31 on a pair of arms I38 secured to the tiltablesupport I I1 at I39. If the armature I28 is drawn into the solenoid I21,the free end I36 of the lever I30 moves clockwise about the pivot I3I,disengaging spin gears 55 and I06 without, however, disturbing theengagement of gyrator gears 94 and H2. The solenoid I21 is mounted on abracket I40 secured to the spider 25.

Cold and hot water is supplied to the washing machine from a suitablesource (not shown) through conduits I42 and I43 respectively. The coldwater conduit I42 is equipped with a valve I44 operated by a solenoidI45 of conventional construction. The hot water conduit I43 iscontrolled by a valve I46 operated by a solenoid I41. The conduits I42and I43 lead into a mixing manifold I48 equipped with a thermostaticallyoperated switch I49 for controlling the proper water temperature. Themanifold I48 leads to the intake I50 of a centrifugal pump II which isalso connected to an outlet I52 of the sump 2I through a duct I53.

The pump I5I is mounted in trunnions I54 in brackets I55 secured to thespider 25 and has a friction gear I56 on the pump rotor shaft I51. Aspring I58 connected to a pin I59 in the pump housing I5I and to the hub5| of the spider 25 tends to tilt the pump about its pivot axis so as tomaintain the friction gear I56 on the pump shaft in engagement with thegear 94 of the gyrator shaft. The pump I5I has an outlet I60 to which ahose I6I is connected leading to an intake duct I62 of the filter I4having a hose coupling I63. The filter has an outlet spout I66 fordischarging filtered washing liquid into the receptacle and an outletduct I65 for discharging liquid and impurities into a 'hose I66 leadingto a point of liquid disposal such as a drain (not shown).

It will be understood that this invention may be applied to any sizemachine either for household purposes or for commercial laundry purposesand that the various dimensions and the proper speeds of the spin andyrator shafts will be determined by those skilled in the art dependingupont the particular size and design desired.

However, for purposes of disclosure, a specific example of house laundrmachine is given. This example applies to the type in which the gyratorshaft rotates during the drying period. The spinner basket may beapproximately 20 to 22 inches in diameter at the bottom and its heightmay be approximately to 12 inches. The weight of the empty basketincluding balance ring may be 30 to 40 pounds. The weight of the clothesand water remaining in the clothes, when maximum spinning speed isreached, may be approximately 20 pounds. The distance between the centerof the universal joint and th center of mass of the basket may run aboutOr 16 inches. The spinning speed of the spin shaft may run about 900 to1100 R. P. M. and the gyrating speed of the gyrator shaft may run about110 to 115 R. P. M. The maximum amplitude of gyration (diameter of thepath of basket axis) measured at the top of the basket may be 4 to 5inches. The machine may hold 6 to 8 gallons of water with about 8 poundsof dry clothes and the machine may circulate water at the rate of 12 to15 gallons of water per minute.

Operation The operation of the washing machine so far described, is asfollows:

After opening the lid I2 and placing the filter in an uprightpositionlaundry is placed in the receptacle 21. Cold and hot waters are admittedfrom the supply lines I42 and I43 through the solenoid controlled valvesI44 and, I46. The water flows through the manifold I48 to the intake I50of the pump I5I and also into the sump 2I of the tank or casing I0. Soapflakes or powder may be placed in the casing I0 where it mixes with thewater, or into a receptacle through which water flows, such as thefilter I4. The motor 98 is then started which in the starting phase ofthe operations is tilted about the pivot .II8,such that only gyratorgears H2 and 94 are in engagement while spin gears I06 and 55 aredisengaged. The motor 98 is held in this adjustment by the lever I30bearing with its free end I38 against the arms I38 of the tiltable motorsupport II1. At the same time the cradle I33 carrying the brake liningI35 rests firmly against the periphery of the spin gear 55 arresting thesame.

The motor 98 driving the gear 94 also drives the pump I5I the frictiongear I56 of which rests against the periphery of the gear 94. The pumpI5I feeds the washing liquid from the sump 2I of the casing I0 throughthe hose IBI to the filter I4. The washing liquid passes through thefilter I4 and is directed into the receptable 21 through the outletspout I64.

At the same time washing motion is imparted to the receptacle 21 throughthe gyrator shaft 66. Due to rotation of the gyrator shaft and under theweight of the laundry placed into the receptacle 21 and of the washingliquid flowing into it through the outlet spout I64 of the filter I4,the rotor shaft 40 of the receptacle 21 tilts about the center of theuniversal joint 52 against the centering action of the spring 83. Inthis tilted position the roller 81 rests against the flared portion 13of the gyrator shaft 66 and the roller 81 comes to rest against theprojection 89 on the inside of the gyrator shaft 66, 13 causing therotor shaft 40 with the receptacle 21 to make a wobbling or gyratingmotion about the universal joint 52.

The washingliquid fed by the pump I5I fills the basket 21 faster thanthe liquid drains oil through the bleeder holes 36 causing excesswashing liquid constantly to spill over the inturned flange 29. Thespeed of gyration during washing may be sufficiently high to prevent thebasket from retaining much water because the centrifugal force, due togyration of the basket. causes the water to bank up along the side wallof the basket and move around the basket in the direction of basketmovement. This excess liquid carries with it floating impurities such aslint, curd and other matter which otherwise would adhere to the laundry.The excess liquid overflows into the casing II) where it collects in thesump and is recirculated through the filter I4 which removes theimpurities.

The laundry inside the receptacle 21 is thoroughly agitated and partakesof two distinct major motions imparted to the contents due to the novelshape of the inside surface of the receptacle. Firstly the clothes movecontinuously about the rotor axis in a direction opposite to themovement of water and the direction of gyration. In addition, thebaiiles or helical blades 31 together with the troughv II and the ledge35, set ups vortex motion on the clothes as indicated by arrows 201 inFig. 2. During these two major movements the laundry is further agitatedby moving past the ledge 35 and the edge 2 of the raised central portion32.

The conical shape of the basket, the inclined baffles 31 and the raisedcentral disk 32 assistin giving the clothes the vortex :movement. Thecentral disk tends to shove the clothes to the outer edge of the, smoothbottom 33 of the basket. The bailies -31 serve togknock the clothes. upthe side of the basket and :the outer ledge 35 at the bottom of thebasket serves to boost the clothes every time it hits them. The-inertiaof the clothes tends to hold the mass more nearly in a central positionwhile thegyrat gbask'et moves under it, battingth'e clothes to obtainthe vortex action- At the end of the washing cycle the machine isshifted from'the washing to the dryingposition. For this purpose thesolenoid l21.controlling the brake arrangement I30, I35 for the driveshaft -l8-andthe 'tilt of the motor 58 is deenergized, causing the braketo release the drive shaft 48 for free. rotation and further causingengagement between the gear 55 onIthe drive shaft'and'the correspondinggear I06 on the motor shaft. Thedri'veshaft 4B driven by the motor 98through the torque limiting clutch HM, I09, I08 is gradually.accelerated and causes the rotor shaft 40 and the receptacle 21 to spin.The high spinning speed of the receptacle 2! causes the washing liquidto be discharged therefrom through thebleeder holes 36 by centrifugalforce leaving the contents in a semi-dry state.

Simultaneously .with the shifting-of the machine to thecentrifugaldrying position, the filter solenoid ZM-is energized, closingthe outlet spout I 64 and-causing the washing liquid fed by the pumptodrainthrough drain pipes I65, lit. After the spin-drying the laundrymay be rinsed in one or several changes of hot or cold rinse water. Forthis purpose the machine is shifted to the washing position in which thedrive shaft 48 is arrested, the spin'gears I06 and 55 disengaged, andthe valves of the" filter I adjusted so as to cause the rinse watersupplied by conduits I42 and I 43 to how into the receptacle 2! throughthe spout ISL. During the rinsing the receptacle 21 When the basket andits contents are spinning for centrifugal extraction, they act as therotor of a gyroscope. Normally, the contents of the basket are notevenly distributed, giving the basket a certain'unbalance. Hence, thecenter of mass of thespinning mass, including the basket, its contentsand everything spinning therewith, will not always coincide with thegeometrical axis of the basket. Therefore, the

spinning massrotates about its actual center of mass and not necessarilyabout its geometrical axis. The rotatinggyroscope, which is the spinningmass, under'certain conditions will tend to precess, that is,-1tsaxiswill move in a spiral path departing more and more away from vertical.Upon departure of the basket axis from. vertical, the rotating gyratorshaft, through the spherical friction members, exerts an acceleratingforce on the basket tangential to the path. precession of the basket,causing the basket to move toward vertical.

Thus, the basket and its contents is free to spin about its actualcenter of 'massand the stabilizing devices maintains the basket in.upright position. The action of the centering spring, in balancing thedead weightof the basket and its contents, assists in the stabilizingaction. The centering spring operates to increase the lifting torque orrestoring torque under all conditions of operation, that is to say, bothwhile the spin shaft is accelerating for a centrifugal drying operationand after the spin shaft has acquired centrifugal drying speed; and themachine is also enabled to handle increased. out-of-balance forces dueto an undistributed load or other causes. The centering spring increasesthe lifting force caused -by the rotating gyrator shaft at all usablegyrator shaft speeds, or in other words, causes the gyrator shaft toexert any given value of lifting torque at lower gyrator shaft speeds.The amount of centering torque exerted by the centering spring dependsupon the design of the machine and the results it is desired toaccomplish. With the use of a rotating gyrator. shaft for both dryingand washing, the centering spring should not exert too great a centeringforce or else the basket will notv take an of!- center position for thegyrating washing action. Furthermore, if the centering spring exerts toomuch centering action, considerable vibration may be transmitted to theouter tank from the basket during centrifugal drying. Thus, with amachine of the type of Figs. 1 and 2, the centering spring may exert asufliciently strong centering torque to hold the basket and its contentsstably in central position with spin and gyrator shafts stationary,provided the centering torque exerted by the centering spring issufliciently weak to enable the centrifugal force caused by the rotationof the gyrator shaft for washing to throw the basket outwardly so thatthe roller engages the gyrator shaft.

The centering spring improves operation when the basket mounting isunstable and also when it is stable. It will be understood that, wherethe centering force exerted by the spring is suflicient to prevent thebasket and its contents from tipping over from central upright positionor is sufiicient to return the basket and contents to central positionfrom its maximum off-center position, these results being obtained withspin shaft and gyrator shaft stationary, and with the spherical'irictionmembers exerting no friction, the basket mounting is referred to as astable mounting. Where the centering force exerted by the centeringspring is insufli H cient to. accomplish this result, the mounting willbe referred to as unstable. It will be understood that the spring mayexert a centering force of such value as to obtain a stable mountingwhen the basket is empty and unstable when the basket is filled withclothes and water; or, stable when the basket is filled with clothesholding residual water remaining after draining and unstable when thebasket is filled'with clothes and undrained water. In all of thesecases, the spring improves gyrcscopic stabilization. In the preferredcase, the centering spring should exert'a centering force sufficientlystrong to make the mounting stable with the basket filled with clothesand excess undrained water, the spring exerting centering torqueapproximately fifty percent more than the tipping torque caused by theweight of the basket and contents acting through the distance fromcentral position to full off-center position.

The constant ratio motor clutches IOI, I03 and I00, H3 improve theoperation of the machine at the beginning of a centrifugal dryingperiod. These slip clutches not only reduce the load torque on the motorcaused by accelerating the basket and its contents from zero spin, butalso act to increase the lifting or restoring torque on the basketduring this period. At the end of a rinsing or washing operation,wherein the spin shaft is held stationary and the gyrator shaft rotates,when the machine is shifted to the drying position, the gyrator shaftcontinues to rotate and the stationary spin shaft begins to accelerate.This substantially increases the load torque on the motor and for thisreason the gyrator shaft would ordinarily slow down somewhat. However, Ihave found that greatly improved operation can be obtained bydeliberately slowing down the gyrator shaft to a predetermined extentduring the acceleration of the spin shaft. By the use of the constantratio clutches the spin drive gear and gyrator drive gear are coupledtogether and must rotate as a unit. This imposes a predetermined speedratio between the spin and gyrator shafts which exists, regardless ofthe speed of the motor or the slippage of the motor clutches. This slowsdown the gyrator shaft to a more eflicient stabilizing speed while thespin shaft is accelerating.

In practice this speed ratio may be taken to be about 10 to 1 on thebasis of about 1100 R. P. M. spin speed and a 110 R. P. M. gyrator shaftspeed during the centrifugal drying period with a full load and afterthe basket has acquired drying speed.

This improved operation results from the relationship between thevarious gyroscopic forces set up. If the gyrator shaft speed be too highas compared with the spin shaft speed, the lifting or restoring force,available to move the spinning mass toward central position, isconsiderably reduced so that, in some cases at the beginning of thedrying operation, where there is considerable out-of-balance, therestoring force may be so small as to cause bumping of the rolleragainst the inside of the gyrator shaft. With the gyrator shaft speedkept down within the proper relation to the spin shaft speed, therestoring or lifting torque generated is considerably increased and willeffectively prevent bumping of the roller and cause the basket toapproach centering position even when the load in the basket isconsiderably unbalanced and the spin shaft is rotating at a relativelylow speed.

It will be understood that suitable electrical control devices, commonlyknown as timers, may be provided for energizing and de-energizing thesolenoids to give any desired sequence of operations.

The features and advantages of structure and operation of the washingmachine hereinbefore described are numerous.

The construction of the movable receptacle 21 for the articles to bewashed results in a highly efiicient washing action. During the washing,soaking or rinsing process the laundry is vigorously agitated withoutthe use of a mechanical agitator in the receptacle which are commonlyfound in conventional washing machines. In the receptacle 21 thecontents are agitated by currents or turbulence of the liquid producedby the peculiar wall and bottom configurations of the receptacle, moreparticularly the helical blades 31, the ledge 35, the circular trough 33and the raised central portion 32.

By providing bleeder holes 36, large enough for quick and eflicientdraining during the spin drying phase, but small enough in relation tothe amount of washing liquid circulated and fed into the receptacleduring the washing, soaking or rinsing periods, there is a constantoverflow of washing liquid during said phases. The overflow effectivelyremoves from the receptacle scum, curd, lint and other floatingimpurities which otherwise would be caught in the laundry during thespin drying following each of the washing, soaking and rinsing phases.The advantage of thus removing impurities will be apparent when it isseen that during the spin drying, the laundry is thrown against the sidewalls of the receptacle covering the bleeder holes 36 and acts in thisposition as a filter for the liquid which is being drained therethroughby centrifugal force.

The effectiveness of the washing action of the is notable that thefilter I4 is extremely compact, does not interfere with the placing intoor removing of laundry from the receptacle 2'! and that at all times thedelicate filtering screen IBI is enclosed and protected againstQuietness of operation and freedom from vibration are achieved by thepeculiar mass distribution of the receptacle 21, more particularly bythe arrangement of the heavy weight bottom wall 30 having a trough 20therein and the balance ring .39, the mass distribution being such thatcenter of gravity of the empty receptacle lies substantially in the samehorizontal plane as the center of the mass of the normal full charge ofthe laundry placed therein. Hence, the center of mass of the loadedbasket does not shift very much vertically with diil'erent amounts oflaundry nor does it shift very much horizontally due to unevendistribution of the laundry.

A high degree of quietness and smoothness of operation of the washingmachine is further attained by the hereinbefore described frictionalerection device l5, l6, 11 in connection with the centrally arrangedspring 83. The central spring 83, it will be noted, serves a doublepurpose. It firstly tends to maintain the rotor shaft 40 vertical,counteracting a tipping of the same, and cushioning the impact of therotor shaft 40, tipping against the flared end 13, of the gyrator shaft66, at the end of the spinning period. Secondly, the spring 83 forcesthe spherically curved friction plate 11 into engagement with thefriction ring 16.

The rotation of the gyrator shaft in the same direction as the directionof rotation of the spin shaft exerts a force on the basket tangential toits path of precession and in a direction tending to accelerate or hurrythe precession, causing the basket to approach vertical until the centerof the rotating mass comprising basket assembly and contents is directlyover the universal joint .243 clamped 'to zan upper, plate, thy a.s'eries mm v 52. when the friction members It and II are concentric, noerecting torque is exerted on the,

rotor shaft '40, 40 by the frictional erecting.

means.

Pedestal assembly of Fig. 3

Referring now to Fig. 3, a. modified shaft 8 sembly is shown employing atension springqin the friction erecting device and an elastic orresilient universal joint in the spin. shaft. In- Fig. 3 certainelements corresponding to those v in Fig. '2. will bev identified byprimed reference" characters for convenience.

in Fig. 3, the basket 21 is carried by the as.

shaft 40' consisting of the stem 43 connected to the basket2l and'asleeve 44' secured tothe universaljoint 52'. The stem and sleeve areheld against relative rotation bya pin 45' inthe sleeve 44' engaging,the slotted end. ofthe stem- 43',

whereby the basket and stem may be but of the machine for cleaning-andother purposes.

.The sleeve .44 is connected to drive shaft through an elastic universalvjoint ,52 '*so';-that the spin shaftcomprising' drive shaft--48', s1eeve 4.4" and stem 43- mayrotate for'the-spinjdrying" operation whilepermitting the upper section .43.; f of the spinshaft .totilt. relativeto thelowe sectionlB'fofthe'spin shaft.

The

'versal faint 52' comprises helicalspring;

of hooked clamps 2 45 holding theend conyolu tion of the spring in arecessed :seat ZIiin' the] plate 2. The, lower end' convolutionofsprin'g- 243 is clamped in a similar .manner, to lower plate 241.

to drive s aft 48. v

The drive shaft 48' and-jthe'rotor ins st? are surrounded by the gyratorshaft 65' having a wide cylindrical portion 258 flared at 13? and;

carrying a washing torque block 89'. The drive shaft 48" is journaled mgyrator shaft at" by v self-lubricating bearing 255 fixed to theg'yrator; shaft. A self-lubricating thrust washer 256;is-

interposed between plate 241 and the adjacent shoulder formed by gyratorshaft 65''. The gyrator shaft 66' is journaled in hub 5| in a mannersimilar to the corresponding parts in Fig. 2 and the weight of thebasket and contents is taken by the hub 5| and has no effect on thepressure between friction plate 11 and pressure head 15' describedhereinafter.

- 15' securedsto secured to the spherically curved friction head theflared end 13' of the gyrator shaft 65'.

A1b'ell -shaped skirt or'body' 92'. is secured to the friction plate 11by bolts 2'; it surrounds. 'w'ell l8. andextends with its lower end into.the Y sump-2 I to prevent froth and water from reaching the frictionsurfaces or parts enclosed by 552' :The radius of curvature of the innersub-.

Parts lying thereunder.

In this -assembly the spring 259 pulls the s'leeve'80" and the frictionplate I1 attached f'there'to downwardly with a certain force which Theupper plate. 244' is pinned .or'. otherwise rigidly secured to sleeve44; Thelofwer plate 2" is pinned or otherwise rigidly washing machine'offamily-size.

bca'pproximately to pounds for a In addition, thespring .259 applies acentering force tendingiat'o maintain the rotor shaft 40' in alignnientwith the-axis of the gyrator shaft 66', 258 he' 'centeringforce beingapproximately 18 to 20 pounds 'forythe same machine, measured at thefrictionalarerection device 15', 16', 11' with the rotor-shaft [0' inits extreme tilted position. A

rticularyadvantage of the assembly employtensionispring 259 is that itpermits apply- :injgthe centering force of the spring to the rotor'shaftiat a point above the universal joint higher thanwiththecompression spring assembly of Spring 259 also prevents upper frictiondisk: 1.' |".'from"turning on lower friction ring 15',

.and'the corresponding parts in Fig. 2 cooperate inthe same way.

-. Due touneven distribution of the laundry and.

,topo'ssiblejimperfections in manufacture, the basket may be unbalancedduring the spin drying operation. This unbalance may be a static-uhbalanceior a dynamic unbalance, or both. During the spin dryingoperation, the dynamic unbalance sets up a couple tending to tilt thebasket axis and this tends to cause the foot of r axis of the driveshaft48'. The lateral flexithe rotorshaft M to move away from the verticalbility of the universal joint- 52 permits this lateral movement whichmay be, for example,

The lower end of a tapered helical tension spring 259 is connected tothe cylindrical por-' tion 258 by clamps 84'. The upper end of thespring 259 is connected to a sleeve 80' rotatably mounted On the rotorshaft 40' by a ball hearing 260 axially slidable on the rotorshaftlflfif Thesleeve 80' consists of a lower portion'25l and an upperportion 262 spun over at 283 after 264. The lower portion 26| of thesleevelim' carries a flange ring 255 bearing against the uppermost coilof the spring 259, the flange ring being held in place by a snap ring266 set in a groove in lower portion 26L The lower sleeve say one-eighthor one-quarter of an inch. This resultant tilt inangularity of thespinner axis creates a counter dynamic moment sufficient to neutralizethat caused by the original dynamic unbalance. This outward movement oftheioot of the rotor shaft occurs regardless of whether the couple Idue. to dynamic unbalance acts to tip the basket 0. insertion of thebearing 26!! and a spacer ring T clockwise or. counter-clockwise in Fig.3. This displacement of the foot of therotor shaft 44 acts to preventvibrations of spin speed frequency from being transmitted to the frameof the ma- -chine.

The slight angular tilt of the basket changes the intersection of thespinner axis and of the portion 2H is further provided with a1self-jlubricating bearing 251.

The 'upper sleeve portion 262 also carries a ring 268 held in place bya, snap ring 269 set in a groove in sleeve 262. The ring 269 bearsagainst a flexible ring 210 of yieidable material, such as rubber,resting in a seat formed by a flange 252 onfriction'plate 11'. Thefrictionplate -|'I' bears against a ring 15 of friction material "axisof drive shaft 48' which may cause binding betweenthe friction plate 11'and the friction head 16' butfor flexible ring 210. The flexible ring210 eliminates this binding by permitting a slight angular play betweenthe friction plate 11 and the axis of the basket. The edge of frictionplate 11' is sleeve rounded at its engagement with A laundry machinehaving the shaft assembly l of Fig. 3 may be used in a manner similar tothat described in connection with the shaft assembly of Fig. 2, as willbe understood by those skilled in the art. The assembly of Fig. 3 hascertain advantages, however, over that of Fig. 2, particularly when thespinning mass is in dynamic unbalance.

Referring now to Fig. 4, instead of using a helical spring for theuniversal joint 52, a universal joint of molded rubber bonded to metalplates may be substituted. In Fig. 4 the metal plate 244 is rigidlysecured to sleeve 44' and metal plate 241' is rigidly secured to driveshaft 48'. A hollow rubber cylinder 251 of suitable construction issurface-bonded to the metal discs 244' and 241 in such manner as topermit tilting between the upper and lower sections of the spin shaft44', 48 and also the radial movement of the lower end of the rotor shaftdescribed in connection with Fig. 3.

In some cases with elastic universal joints of the type shown in Figs. 3and 4, the centering spring 259 acting between gyrator and spin shaftsmay be omitted entirely. The elastic universal joint may be used toperform any one or more of the following functions: (a) provide thedesired universal joint for relative angular movement of the rotor shaftand basket and transmit torque thereto with respect to the high speedshaft; (b) permit the lower end of the rotor shaft to move sidewayssufliciently to cushion or dampen out vibrations set up in the spinnerbasket due to dynamic unbalance; (0) supply suitable friction pressurebetween friction disk 11' and gyrator head 15' by placing suflicienttension in the helical spring or rubber universal;

(d) supply the desired centering force to the spinner basket.

Pedestal assembly of Fig. 6

Referring now to Figure 6, a modified pedestal assembly is illustratedhaving separate pressure and centering springs for the sphericalstabilizing members; this form of the invention also provides forholding the gyrator shaft stationary for the centrifugal dryingoperation.

In this figure the spin shaft 36! and gyratorshaft 362 are constructedand journaled in the spider 363 in a manner similar to that of thecorresponding parts in Figures 1 and 2. The fricof tank l8. Secured toflange 383 are a series of radial arms 368, four being shown in thedrawing. Disposed between the radial arms 368 are depending arms 369also secured to flange 383. The vertical tension springs 365 connect theends of the depending arms 369 and the periphery of the friction plate366 to urge the upper and lower friction members together. The radialtension springs 364 connect the outer ends of radial arms 368 and theedge of the friction plate 366 to apply a centering force to the basket.v

By adusting the tension of the separate horizontal and vertical springs,the centering force may be controlled independently of the frictionforce.

16 For driving and controlling the spin shaft 36l and gyrator shaft 362,a modified driving and control mechanism is provided. Friction gear 318is carried by gyrator shaft 362 and friction gear 31l is carried by spinshaft 361. The drive motor 312 supports friction wheels 313, 314 anddrives them through constant ratio clutches 316,

316 which may have a construction similar to the construction of thecorresponding parts in Figures 1 and 2. However, constant ratio clutchesare not necessary here, and as will be apparent from the followingdescription, if desired, the slip clutches 315, 316 may operateindependently of each other.

The motor 312 is mounted between brackets 311 secured to either side ofthe hub 318, the brackets being provided with pintles 319 passingthrough arms of a U-shaped saddle 38! rigidly secured to the base of themotor. A forked control arm 388 straddling hub 318 is also secured tothe saddle 38!. Movement of arm 388 operates to engag either gyratorgears 318, 313 or the spin gears 3", 314 selectively, never both sets ofgears together.

For arresting rotation of the spin shaft 36| dur-- ing washing, the spinshaft gear 31! is surrounded by a semi-annular brake cradle 384supported by a U-shaped lever 385- through pivots 386. The U-shapedlever 385 in turn is pivotally supported at 381 by depending brackets388 secured to the hub 318 one on either side of the spin shaft gear311. The brake cradle 384 is shown disengaged from spin shaft gear 3'.However, when the U-shaped lever 385 is raised, the brake cradle 384will engage the spin shaft gear 31! to arrest its movement.

For holding the gyrator shaft 362 stationary during centrifugal drying,a brake shoe 389 is mounted on a bell-crank spring member 398 which inturn is mounted on a pin 39I secured to the spider 363. The bell-crankmember 398 is controlled by a brake rod 392 which also helps control themovement of motor arm 388 and spin-drying position with the spin gears31!, 314

engaged and the gyrator gears 318, 313,disengaged and the gyrator gearbrake 389 engaged.

The engagement and disengagement of the gyrator gears, spin gears, spinshaft brake and the gyrator shaft brake are controlled by a solenoid 395having a stator mounted upon the motor arm 388 and having a plunger 396connected to a rod 39'! passing through the brake arm 385. and securedthereto by a nut 398 on one side and a spring 399 and nut 488 on theother. The spring bell crank 398, motor arm 388- and brake arm 385 arealso connected together by the control rod 392 passing freely through anopening in the spider 363. Rod 392 is connected to the bell crank spring398 by having a nut 48f engaging the upper side of the bell crankspring. The rod 392 also passes through the brake arm 385, beingprovided with a threaded nut 402 engaging the lower side of the brakearm. A coil compression spring 483 surrounds the rod 392, this springbeing urged against the upper side of the motor arm 388 by l1 solenoid"I being energized. This is in contrast to Figure 1 where theenergization of solenoid III holds the parts in washing position. Theenergization of the solenoid lli'spreads apart the motor arm ill and thebrake arm 38!, the spring Ill pushing down on the brake arm "I. Thereaction on the winding of solenoid "Ipushes motor arm, up. The brakearm 38! pulling the rod 382 down applies the gyrator brake 389.

When the solenoid '39! is de-energized, the spring 403 acting downwardlyon the motor arm I and upwardly on the nut 4 brings the motor arm Illand brake arm I" together. The downward movement of the motor arm 3engages the gyrator gears "I, 313 and disengages the spin gears "I, 314.The upward movement of the brake arm 38! engages the spin shaft brakeill. The moving together of the motor arm 380 and brake arm 385 permitsspring 403 to raise the rod 392 which also releases the gyrator gearbrake 389. Thus the machine is in the washin position with the gyratorgears 310, 313 driving the gyratorshaft I82 and the spin shaft I beingheld stationary.

In the operation of the stationary gyrator type machine, it will beunderstood that to obtain gyroscopic stabilization the centering forceexerted by springs I must be strong enough to hold the basket and itscontents upright when the gyrator and spin shafts are stationary andwith the spherical friction members exerting no friction. In otherwords, the basket mounting must be stable. not be strong enough toprevent the basket from tipping over when the gyrator shaft is rotatedfor the washing action. The washing operation occurs with rotation ofthe gyrator shaft but with the spin shaft stationary, resulting in thewashing movement described above in connection with Figure 1.

For spin-drying, the solenoid 395 will be energized and the parts willbe in the position shown in Figure 6, the gyrator brake "9 holding thegyrator shaft stationary and the spin shaft gears being engaged to drivethe spin shaft at centrifugally discharging speed. The lifting torqueexerted by the centering spring and the action of the sphericalfrictional members, exerting a retardingforce on the basket tangentialto the path of precession of the basket axis applies an eflicientcorrective action to overcome negative precession and stabilize themachine.

It is only necessary that the basket mounting be stable at the time thebasket is accelerating for the drying operation. When the basket is icarrying a load of clothes and free water as during or just afterwashing, the mounting may be unstable; so long as the mounting becomesstable after the free water drains out of the basket through the drainholes, gyroscopic stabilization will be obtained.

Comments The following explanation is given to further assist inunderstanding the action of the centering spring and its cooperationwith the g ator I absence But the centering force should 18 direction asthe spin shaft will be referred to as forward rotation and movement ofthe gyrator shaftin a direction opposite to that of the spin shaft willbe referred to as backward' rotation. Radial torque tending to cause thebasket axis to depart further away from vertical will be referred to asa falling torque. The torque tending to move the basket axis to ardvertical will be referred to as restoring or 1' g torque.

Where the centering force exerted by the centering spring is sufllcientto prevent the basket and contents from tipping over from centralupright position, with spin shaft and gyrator shaft stationary and withthe spherical friction members exerting no friction, the basket mountingwill be referred to as a stable mounting. Where the centering force isinsufficient to accomplish this result, the mounting will be referred.to as unstable.

For purposes of simplicity, the basket axis will be assumed tube thesame as the center of the spinning mass, although in practice, due tounequalities of manufacture and uneven distribution of the clothes, thiscondition will not usually exist. However, in actual use this idealcondition will be sufficiently closely approached to cause the behaviorof the machine to be substantially the same as ifideal conditions wereobtained. v

The centering spring coacts with the gyrator shaft and the frictionmembers thereof to substantially improve the self-balancing action. The

size and arrangement of the centering spring to be chosen and thecentering force exerted thereby depends upon the balancing actiondesired and a the method by which it is desired to operate the washingand drying machine.

To assist in understanding. the role played by the centering spring, sixdifferent conditions of gyroscopic action will be considered: (A)unstable mounting with centering spring exerting no centering force andgyrator shaft stationary; (B) unstable mounting with centering springexerting no centering force and forward rotation of gyrator shaft; (C)unstable mounting with centering spring exerting centering force withforward rotation of y ator shaft; (D) stable mounting with forwardrotation of gyrator shaft; (E) stable mounting with gyrator shaftstationary: (F) stable mounting with backward rotation of gyrator shaft.The friction surfaces are engaged in all cases. Condition A forwardsdeparting further away from center 1 until the bumper roller hits thegyrator shaft after which the basket will precess backwards and thebumper roller will remain in continuous contact with the gyrator shaft.Thus, no stabilization is achieved in this condition.

Condition B If now, with the centering spring still exerting nocentering force, the gyrator shaft be rotated forward, the fallingtorque decreases with increase in gyrator shaft speed until a certainminimum speed of the gyrator shaft is reached. This point may be calledthe lower natural precession rate at which the falling torque is zero.

19 At this point the basket will precess forwardly but will neitherdepart further from true verticalv nor approach true vertical.

If the gyrator shaft speed be further increased forwardly, a restoringtorque will be generated, tending to move the basket to verticalposition. This restoring torque will increase with further increase inthe speed of the gyrator shaft until a maximum restoring torque isobtained, after which the restoring torque decreases until the speed ofthe gyrator shaft attains its upper natural precession rate. At thispoint the restoring torque is again zero. A further increase in thespeed of the gyrator shaft generates a falling torque tending to movethe basket further away from vertical.

Condition B above described represents the conditions of operation inthe above-mentioned application, Serial No. 262,652, filed March 18,1939, now Patent No. 2,350,268, dated May 30, 1944, and according tothat prior application, the speed of the gyrator shaft is taken betweenthe lower and upper critical limits, preferably where the restoringtorque is maximum.

Condition C If now the centering spring be adjusted to apply a centeringforce insufficient to make the mounting stable, restoring torques willbe generated at lower forward gyration shaft speeds than under ConditionB. As the gyrator shaft 'speed is increased, the restoring torque willalso increase to a certain maximum, after which with further increase ingyrator speed, the restoring torque will decrease until an uppercritical limi of gyrator shaft speed is reached.

Condition D If the centering spring be adjusted to apply a suiilcientforce to make the mounting stable, the behavior of the machine willfollow that discussed under Condition C. With forward rotation of thegyrator shaft, the centering force exerted by the centering springimproves the operation regardless of whether the centering force issufficient to make the mounting stable.

The above Conditions C and D represent the embodiment of the inventionillustrated in Figures l and 2. It will be noted that the forwardmovement of the gyrator shaft of Condition D also retards the tendencyof the basket to precess backwardly just the same as the stationarygyrator performs this function under Condition E, below.

Condition it With a stable mounting and the gyrator shaft drivenbackwards, the restoring torque will decrease with increase in gyratorshaft speed to a point where the restoring torque becomes zero.

In general, spring centering force, either sufficient or insufllcient tomake the mounting stable, increases the restoring torque generated bythe forward rotation of the gyrator shaft at any speed and increases therange of gyrator shaft speed over which a restoring torque is generated.This spring centering force also causes a restoring torque to begenerated at lower gyrator shaft speeds than without this centeringforce. In addition, this centering force makes it possible to obtain anappreciable restoring torque with a stationary gyrator shaft or evenwith the gyrator shaft rotating backwardly.

Reference is made to copending divisional application, Serial No.553,761. filed September 12, 1944, which contains claims to the washingaction.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed andare pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood thatvarious omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, areceptacle adapted to receive articles to be washed and centrifugallydried; a rotor shaft supporting said receptacle; a universal support forsaid rotor shaft; a hollow gyrator shaft surrounding said rotor shaft; apair of friction members mounted on said rotor shaft and gyrator shaft,respectively; and a spring urging said friction members together.

2. 1n a centrifugal machine, a rotatable basket, a universal joint forsupporting the basket, a support under said basket, a spin shaftrotatably mounted upon said support and connected to said universaljoint, means for driving said spm shaft to spin the basket for the spindrying operation, a stabilizing device including a second drive shaftfor supplying to said basket while it is spinning, an acceleratingcorrective force tangential to the path of precession of the basket, andyieldable devices acting between said support and said basket forapplying a centerin force to said basket.

3. In a bottom mounted washing machine, an open top basket, a spin shaftunder said basket comprising upper and lower sections and having auniversal joint therebetween, said upper section being connected to saidbasket, means for driving said lower section at centrifugally extractingspeed, a stabilizing member surrounding said spin shaft and having afriction element, a friction element joumaled on said upper section,elastic means for holding said friction elements in engagement with eachother, means for controlling said stabilizing member to cause saidfriction elements to apply to said basket a force tangential to the pathof precession of said basket to stabilize said basket, a tank for saidbasket, said friction elements being disposed above the overflow levelof liquid in said tank.

4. In a centrifuge, an open top basket, a. spin shaft under said basketcomprising upper and lower sections and having a universal jointtherebetween, said upper section being connected to said basket, meansfor driving said lower section at centrifugally extracting speed, astabilizing sleeve surrounding said spin shaft and having a frictionhead at its upper end, a spherical friction plate joumaled on said uppersection, spring means for holding said friction plate in engagement withsaid friction head, and means for controlling said stabilizing sleeve tocause said friction plate to apply to said basket a force tangential tothe path of precession of said basket stabilize said basket.

5. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, areceptacle adapted 21 I to receive articles to be washed andcentrifugally dried; a rotor shaft supporting said receptacle; auniversal support for said rotor shaft; 9. hollow gyrator shaftsurrounding said rotor shaft; a pair of friction members mounted on saidrotor shaft and gyrator shaft, respectively; and a spring device actingbetween said rotor shaft and said gyrator shaft for urging said frictionmembers together and urging said rotor shaft towards a central positionwith respect to said gyrator shaft.

6. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, areceptacle adapted to receive articles to be washed and centrifugallydried; a rotor" shaft supporting said receptacle; a universal supportfor said rotor shaft; 9. hollow gyrator shaft surrounding said rotorshaft;

a rotatable sleeve on said rotor shaft; a pair of spherically curvedfriction members on said gyrator shaft and said sleeve, respectively,said friction members bein concentrically arranged with respect to saiduniversal support; and a spring device acting between said sleeve andsaid gyrator shaft for urging said friction members together and forurging said rotor shaft towards a central position with respect to saidgyrator shaft.

7. In a centrifugal machine, an open top clothes basket, a support undersaid basket, a spin shaft having a drive section journaled on saidsupport and a rotor section secured to said basket, a universal jointdisposed between said sections, a gyrator shaft surrounding said spinshaft, a stabilizing member comprising a friction plate. a bearingsleeve journaled on said rotor section and secured to said frictionplate, a friction head on said gyrator shaft engageable by said frictionplate, a tapered helical centering spring having its larger end disposedupwardly and secured to the inside of said gyrator shaft, the lower endof said spring engaging said bearing sleeve, said spring being incompression and drawing saidsaid gyrator shaft and said sleeve,respectively;

and a helical spring surrounding said rotor shaft and acting betweensaid sleeve and said gyrator shaft for urging said rotor shaft towards acentral position with respect to said gyrator shaft and for urging saidfriction members together.

9. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, areceptacle adapted to receive articles to be washed and centrifugallydried; a rotor shaft supporting said receptacle; a universal support forsaid rotor shaft; a hollow gyrator shaft surrounding said rotor shaft; apair of friction members mounted on said rotor shaft and gyrator shaft,respectively; a spring device, acting between said rotor shaft and saidgyrating shaft for. urging said friction members together and for urgingsaid rotor shaft towards a central position with respect to said gyratorshaft; a prime mover connected to said gyrator 22 arresting said rotorshaft or for connecting said rotor shaft to said primer mover,respectively; and means for engaging said rotor shaft and said gyratorshaft to cause the receptacle to gyrate with the gyrator shaft when therotor shaft is in a tilted position.

10. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, asubstantially vertical drive shaft; a receptacle adapted to receivearticles to be washed and centrifugallydried; a rotor shaft supportingsaid receptacle; means for mounting said rotor shaft for rotation with,and

universal tilt relatively to, said drive shaft; a

hollow substantially vertical gyrator shaft surrounding said rotorshaft; a rotatable sleeve on said rotor shaft; a pair of frictionmembers on said gyrator shaft and said sleeve, respectively; a helicalspring surrounding said rotor shaft and acting between said sleeve andsaid gyrator shaft for urging said rotor shaft towards a centralposition with respect to said gyrator shaft and for urging said frictionmembers together; means for engaging the rotor shaft and the gyratorshaft for gyration with the latter when the rotor shaft is in a tiltedposition; a prime mover connected to said gyrator shaft to drive thesame; and means for selectively arresting said drive shaft or forconnecting said drive shaft to said prime mover, respectively.

11. In a laundry machine, a supporting structure including a tank,laundry devices including a basket in said tank, operating drive shaftspassing. through the bottom of said tank including an inner shaft and anouter shaft for operating said laundry devices, a large horizontallydisposed friction bevel gear on said outer shaft, a second horizontallydisposedfriction bevel gear on said inner shaft, an electric motorhaving its main drive shaft arranged at an angle between horizontal andvertical, said'motor drive'shaftcomprising an outer hollow shaft and aninner shaft, friction clutch elements fixedly secured to either end ofsaid hollow shaft, upper and lower motor friction bevel gears journaledon said hollow shaft and secured to either end of said motor innershaft, each said motor bevel gear having a clutch element engaging itsrespective hollow shaft clutch element, said lowerimotor gear engagingsaid second operating drive shaft gear, said upper motor gear engagingsaid first operating drive shaft gear.

12. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, asubstantially vertical drive shaft; a receptacle adapted to receivearticles tobe washed and centrifugally dried; a rotor shaft on saidreceptacle; means for mounting said rotor shaft for rotation with, anduniversal tilt relatively to, said drive shaft; a hollow substantiallyvertical gyrator shaft surrounding said rotor shaft; a pair of frictionmembers on said rotor shaft and said gyrator shaft, respectively; afriction wheel on said drive shaft; a friction wheel on said gyratorshaft; aprime -mover having two friction wheels, one wheel permanentlyengaging the frictionwheel on the gyrator shaft; and a tiltable mountfor said prime mover for engaging and disengaging, by tilting oftheprimemover, the other friction wheel on the prime mover with the wheel on thedrive shaft.

13. In alaundry machine, a supporting structure including a tank,laundry devices including a basket in said tank, operating drive shaftspassing through the bottom "of said tankincluding an inner shaft and anouter shaft for operating said shaft to drive the same; means forselectively l6 laundry devices, a large horizontally disposed 23friction bevel gear on said outer shaft, a second horizontally disposedfriction bevel gear on said inner shaft, an electric motor having itsmain drive shaft arranged at an angle between horizontal and vertical,said motor drive shaft having a friction bevel gear on its lower endadapted to engage said inner shaft gear and afriction bevel gear on itsupper end adapted to engage said outer shaft gear, a support secured tosaid motor, a link pivoted to said support and to said structure, abrake for said inner shaft gear, a lever pivoted to said structure andto said brake for engaging said brake and last mentioned gear, saidlever having a portion engageable with said motor support to disengagethe lower motor gear from the inner shaft gear whenever said brake isapplied.

14. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, asubstantially vertical drive shaft; a receptacle adapted to receivearticles to be washed and centrifugally dried; a rotor shaft on saidreceptacle; means for mounting said rotor shaft for rotation with, anduniversal tilt relatively to, said drive shaft; a hollow substantially.vertical gyrator shaft surrounding said rotor shaft; a pair of frictionmembers on said rotor shaft and said gyrator shaft, respectively; afriction wheel on said drive shaft; a friction wheel on said gyratorshaft; a motor having two friction wheels, one wheel permanentlyengaging the friction wheel on the gy-.

rator shaft; a brake for said drive shaft; a tiltable mount, for saidmotorfor engaging and disengaging by tilting of the motor the other friction wheel on the motor with the wheel on the drive shaft; and anactuator for jointly operating said brake and tilting said mount.

15. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, asubstantially vertical drive shaft; a receptacle adapted to receivearticles to be washed and centrifugally dried; a rotor shaft on saidreceptacle; means for mounting said rotor shaft, for rotation with, anduniversal tilt relatively to, said drive shaft; a hollow substantiallyvertical gyrator shaft surrounding said rotor shaft; frictional erectingmeans between said gyrator shaft and said rotor shaft; and an internalprojection on said gyrator shaft for engaging said rotor shaft forgyratorymovement with said gyrating shaft when said rotor shaft is in atilted position, and means for supporting said drive shaft and gyratorshaft in substantially fixed axial relation.

16. In a combined washing and drying machine, a receptacle in whichlaundry is washed,

and centrifugally dried; a substantially vertical rotor shaft supportingsaid receptacle; a universal support for said rotor shaft; a hollowgyrator shaft surrounding said rotor shaft; and a resilient roller onsaid rotor shaft to cushion the shock when the rotor shaft tilts againstthe E!- rator shaft.

17. In a combined washing and drying machine, a receptacle in whichlaundry is washed and centrifugally dried; a substantially verticalrotor shaft supporting said receptacle; a universal support for saidrotor shaft; a hollow gyrator shaft surrounding said rotor shaft; aroller on said rotor shaft to contact the inner wall of the gyratorshaft when the rotor shaft tilts against the gyrator shaft; and aprojection on the inside of the gyrator shaft in the path of saidn'ollerto engage the rotor shaft for gyrating movement with said gyrator shaft.

18. In a laundry machine, a framework comring aspider having radial armssecured to said ring, said spider having a central hub, .a hollowgyrator shaft journaled in said hub, a spin shaft comprising a drivesection journaled in said gyrator shaft and a rotor section disposed insaid gyrator shaft for tilting movement with respect thereto, auniversal coupling connecting said spin shaft sections, said rotorsection comprising a sleeve connected to said universal joint and a stemdisposed within said sleeve, an open top basket having a bottomconnected to said stem, a bearing sleeve surrounding said rotor sleeveand journaled thereon, a' spherical stabilizing plate secured to saidbearing sleeve, a friction head on the upper end of said gyrator shafthaving frictional engagement with said friction plate, a helical springsurrounding said spin shaft and secured to said gyrator shaft and tosaid rotor sleeve, said spring urging said frictional stabilizing plateand head together and also exerting centering action on said basket, ahigh speed drive connected to said drive section and a low speed driveconnected to said gyrator shaft.

19. A combined washing and drying machine comprising in combination, asubstantially vertical drive shaft; a receptacle adapted to'receivearticles to be washed and centrifugally dried; a rotor shaft supportingsaid receptacle; a universal joint for mounting said rotor shaft forrotation with, and universal tilt relatively to, said drive shaft, ahollow substantially vertical gyrator shaft surrounding said rotorshaft; a rotatable and axially movable sleeve on said rotor shaft; apair of spherically curved friction members on said gyrator shaft andsaid sleeve, respectively; concentric with said universal joint; ahelical tension spring of conical shape connected to said sleeve andsaid gyrator shaft respectively; and a member projecting on the insideof said gyrator shaft for engaging the rotor shaft in a tilted positionfor gyrating movement.

20. In a centrifugal machine, an open top sections, a gyrator shaftsurrounding said spin shaft, a stabilizing member comprising a frictionplate, a bearing sleeve journaled on said rotor section and secured tosaid friction plate, a friction head on said gyrator shaft engageableEU! said friction plate, a tapered helical centering spring having itslarger end disposed downwardly and secured to the inside of said gyratorshaft, the upper end of said spring being secured to said bearingsleeve, said spring being in tension and drawing said frictionalstabilizing plate and head together, said spring also exerting acentering force on said basket. 21. In a centrifugal machine, an opentop clothes basket, a support under said basket, a spin shaft having adrive section journaled on said support and a rotor section secured tosaid basket, a universal joint incorporated between said sections, saiduniversal joint permitting tilting of the basket and also lateralmovement of the foot of the rotor shaft caused by dynamic unbalance, agyrator shaft surrounding said spin shaft, a stabilizing membercomprising a friction plate, a bearing sleeve journaled on said 15 rotorsection, a resilient ring disposed between assspsa said plate and saidbearing sleeve and yieldably securing said plate and bearing sleevetogether, a friction head on the upper end of said gyrator shaftengageable by said friction plate, a tapered,

helical, centering spring surrounding said rotor shaft and having itslarger end disposed downwardly and secured to the inside of said gyratorshaft, the upper end of said spring engaging an abutment on said bearingsleeve, said spring being in tension and drawing said frictionalstabilizing plate and head together, said spring also exerting acentering force on said basket.

22. In a drying machine, a supporting sleeve, a hollow gyrator shaftjournaled in said sleeve, a spin shaft journaled in said gyrator shaft,said spin shaft comprising an upper rotor section and a lower drivesection connected by a universal joint, a basket connected to said rotorsection, a friction head on said gyrator shaft, a friction plateJournaled on said rotor shaft adapted to engage said friction head,separate horizontal springs acting between said friction plate andgyrator shaft to apply a centering force to said basket, separatevertical springs acting between said friction plate and gyrator shaft toapply friction pressure between said friction plate and gyrator head,and means for driving said shafts.

23. In a combined washing and drying machine, a supporting sleeve, ahollow gyrator shaft joumaled in said sleeve, a spin shaft joumaled insaid gyrator shaft, said spin shaft comprising an upper rotor sectionand a lower drive section connected by a universal joint, a basketconnected to said rotor section, a friction head on said gyrator shaft,a friction plate journaled on said rotor shaft adapted to engage saidfriction head, spring means to apply a centering force to said basket,means to apply friction pressure between said friction plate and gyratorhead, drive means for driving said drive shaft and brake means forconcurrently holding said gyrator shaft stationary for centrifugaldrying, and drive means for driving said gyrator shaft and brake meansfor concurrently holding said drive shaft stationary for washing.

24. In a centrifuge, a basket assembly comprising an open top basket anda spin shaft connected to said basket, a support under said basket, aflexible connection between said support and said basket assembly topermit the basket to precess, means for driving said spin shaft atcentrifugal extracting speed. a sleeve surrounding said spin shaft andhaving a friction head, a friction member journaled on said basketassembly and engaging said head, elastic means for applying a centeringforce to said hasket, and means for driving said sleeve whereby saidfriction member applies to said basket an accelerating force tangentialto the path of precession of said basket to stabilize said basket.

25. In a centrifugal drying machine, a rotatable basket, a support undersaid basket, a spin shaft connected to said basket to spin it for thecentrifugal drying operation, means 'for uni-- versally mounting saidspin shaft on said support to permit the basket to precess, astabilizing device, including a stabilizing shaft, for applying to thebasket, while it is precessing during drying, a corrective forcetangential to the path of precession of the basket, speed ratio devicesbetween said spin and stabilizing shafts for maintaining a substantiallyfixed ratio between the speeds of said spin and stabilizing/shafts 26whilesaidspinshaftisbeingdrivenatfullmin drying speed, and means toaccelerate said basket from a condition of substantial rest whilemaintaining said substantially fixed ratio between the speeds of saidspin and stabilizing shafts.

26. In a washing and centrifugal drying machine, a rotatable basket, asupport under said basket, a spin shaft connected to said basket to spinit for the centrifugal drying operation, means for universally mountingsaid spin shaft on said support to permit the basket to precess, astabilizing device, including a gyrator shaft, for applying to thebasket, while it is precessing during drying. a corrective forcetangential to the path of precession of the basket, a prime mover, aslip clutch driven by said prime mover, drive mechanism connected tosaid slip clutch and to said gyrator shaft for driving said gyratorshaft during both drying and washing operations, a substantiallynon-slipping interruptable drive mechanism connected to said slip clutchand to said spin shaft to drive said spin shaft during the dryingoperation and to discontinue drive of said spin shaft during the washingoperation, substantially non-slipping speed ratio devices between saidspin and gyrator shafts for maintaining a substantially fixed ratiobetween the speeds of said spin and gyrator shafts while said spin shaftis being driven, whereby the en gagemen't of said interruptable drivemechanism for the drying operation acts to decelerate said gyrator shaftat the initiation of the spin drying operation, after which the primemover acts to acelerate the gyrator shaft while accelerating the spinshaft to full spin drying speed.

27. In a centrifugal machine, an open top basket, 9. support under saidbasket, a spin shaft secured to said basket, means including a universal elastic mounting at the foot of said spin shaft for joumalingsaid spin shaft on said support, said universal elastic mountingpermitting precession of the spin shaft, means including a rotatablestabilizing member surrounding said spin shaft for app to said basket anet corrective accelerating force in a direction substantiallytangential to the path of precession of the basket, said universalelastic mounting having lateral flexibility permitting lateral movementof the foot of the spin shaft caused by dynamic unbalance of the basketand its contents, means for driving said spin shaft and means fordriving said stabilizing member.

28. In a centrifugal machine, an open top has ket, a support under saidbasket, a spin shaft secured to said basket, means including a universalelastic mounting at the foot of said spin shaft for journaling said spinshaft on said sup port, said universal elastic mounting permit tingtilting of the spin shaft, said universal elastic mounting havinglateral flexibility per mitting lateral movement of the foot of the spinshaft caused by dynamic unbalance of the basket and its contents, astabilizing shaft surrounding said spin shaft, a stabilizing devicecomprising a friction plate, a bearing member journaled on said spinshaft, a flexible connection between said friction plate and saidbearing member to allow said friction plate to tilt with respect to saidspin shaft, a friction head on said stabilizing shaft engageable by saidfriction plate, centering spring means secured to said stabilizing shaftand to said bearing member, said spring means drawing said frictionplate and head together, said JAY GRANT DE REMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Leaman Oct.'12,' 1886 Jebsen Aug.2, 1904 Daft June 12, 1917 Number 28 Name Date Ge1dho1f July 15, 1930.Lee Dec;'17,1935 Kirby Mar. 1, 1938 Motycka Nov. 22, 1938 MorgensternJan. 9, 1940 Dunham Dec. 30, 1941 Dunham Oct. 6, 1942 Dyer Dec. 1, 1942Clark Apr. 11, 1944 DeRemer May 30, 1944 Dyer Apr. 11, 1944 Hays Oct.31, 1944 Kirby Dec. 16, 1947

